Sheet-feeding machine



llune 24 1924 C. GAVED SHEET FEED NG MACHINE Filed May 2, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MEM v HTM.. SM u' `lune 24, 1924.. 1,499,209

c.GAvED SHEET FEEDING MACHINE Filed may 2,-1922 2 sneers-sneen 2 v llllll HNI:

Patented June 24, 1924.

UNITED STATES rasage PATENT orificiez.y

CLEMENT GAVED, oF ANERLEY, LONDON, ENGLAND, AssIGNon, BY MEsNEAssIGN-'- iviENTs, To H. T. E. LIMITED, or WALTHAMsToWyLoNDoN, ENGLAND.

SHEETi-FEEDING MACHINE.

To all whom, t may con-cem: v

Be it known that I, CLEMENT GAVED, subject of the King of England, residing in Anerley, London, England, have inventedA Hitherto it has been customary to driveV the blower from the main shaft of the printing` machine at a position close to that shaft the air-box. This necessitated several bends or elbows in the air-trunk and provision had to be made, of generally at least two flexible joints, to permit the air-trunk to move with' the air-box as the latter was oscillated vertically in usual manner in relation to the top of the pile of sheets.

avoid the necessity for a long and elbowed 3o found to have drawbacks in air-leaks, particularly at the iiexible joints, and air-fric-f tion losses in the necessarily long ain-trunks According. to the present invention there is provided, for attachment as Aa single unit toa sheet-feeding machine ofthe type'described above, an auxiliary frame carryinga blower and vdriving gea-r train therefor, vsaid `auxilbe attached. to the main. frame of an existing sheet-feeding machine with the bloweroutlet immediately beneath, or substantially beneath, the existing air-inlet connection for j 4 y y y A ing from Athe side members 13. The shaft 15 the air-box. l i y In 'oneI forni of the invention one member ofthe aforesaid driving gear train is so positioned and so formed that it can `be operativelyengaged with (for example by' means of a belt or chain) the "main driving shaft of the sheet-feedingmachine.

and to lead an air-trunk fromthe blowen to u i driven by aseparate motor. The object of the present invention is to` air-trunk as hitherto employed, ywhich ris iary frame being. so constructed that it can Application ined May 2, 1922. 4serial No.- 557,991.

`In a modied form of the construction according to the present invention the blower is arrangedto bey driven (preferably directly) fron'ivaymotor `supported also upon the aforesaid auxiliary frame. y

According to a further feature ofthe invention'the connectionbetween ther blower and the air-inlet of theJair-box isconstituted invvhole` or in partby a collapsible bellows formed of material which is substantially,impervious to passage offair therethrough. i

Two preferred constructions embodying the featuresof the present invention will now be described indetail by way of example with `reference to the accompanying drawings in whichkFigure 1 is a perspectiveview of the auX- iliary frame blower, airfbox and associated parts of the rsheet-feeding machine according to themiirstexample in which the blower' is driven fromthe main driving `shaft of the feeding machine; 4

Figure 2 is a yside elevation (to some eX-l tent diagrammatic) illustrating the alternative construction in which the blower is Like reference numerals indicate like parts in both figures ,of the drawings.

The feeding-machine to which the unit attachment istobeapplied, consists essentia/llyv iii-a main frame composed ofl four vertical pillars 10 connected togetlieiby an and other feeding mechanism (not shown) toget-heihwith an .a'iibjOX The pillars 10 `are interconnected at Ithei r; llower ends tothe base' frame of the` ina/chine whichV is consti tuted by side members 13 and transverse tubular stays 14; "The rmain feeder driving shaft lrexten'ds paialleli-with the cross-stays 14 and issuppoitedin brackets 16 upstaiid- 'upper' frame 1'1' in""wh'ich" are niou'nted, Vamongst ,other devices, the iis'u'al strokers vno a bracket 19 extending between the stays 14f Guided for vertical lmovement on the rear pillars 10 is a platform or carrier 2O which supports a pile of sheets 21, the platform being moved upwardly automatically as the sheets are fed one by one from the top of the pile. The sheets are adapted to be passed forward by the usual strokers (not shown) over the top of the air-box 12 on to a layboard 22 (Figure 2) and thence to the printing rollers. A guide roller (or rollers) 23 is interposed between the air-box and the lay-board. The air-box 12 is adapted in usual manner to be oscillated substantially vertically through the intermediary of bellcrank levers 24. The air-box, feed platform, strokers and associated mechanisms are actuated through transmission gear (not shown) from a vertical shaft 25 driven by bevel gearing 26 from the main feeder driving shaft 15. The construction so far described is that of an ordinary feeding machine of substantially known form.

In the first example (shown in Figure 1) the auxiliary frame hereinbefore referred to comprises two channel-.section 'bars 27 to extend between-the stays 14, and to be. se curedthereto by straps 28. A centrifugal fan or blower 29 is secured to the bars 27 at the forward ends thereof, and towards the rear ends of the bars two parallel shafts 30 and 31 are mounted for rotationin journals suitably supported from the bars of the frame. The shaft 3() which is in the rearmost position carries a small chain sprocket 32 and also a belt pulley 33 which latter is in belt-driven engagement with the rotorspindle of the blower. On the shaft 31 two chain-sprockets 34 and 35 are mounted, the former and larger of which is chain-connected with the sprocket 32 on the shaft 30. On the Ifeeder driving shaft 15 a chainsprocket 36 is mounted in such a position that it may be employed to transmit rotation by means of a chain to the vsmall sprocket 35. Conveniently t-he sprocket 36 is supplied with the auxiliary unit for assembly on the feeder driving shaft. It is seen that the gear train described above effects a step-up gear between the driving shaft of the feeder and the rotor-spindle of the blower.

The auxiliary frame is secured to the stays 14 in such a position that the blower outlet is approximately immediately beneath the air-inlet 37 for the air-box. Upwardly extending from the blower outlet is a rigid pipe 38 and between the upper end of this pipe and the air-box inlet is a short bellows member 39 composed of leather or treated fabric or other mate-rial which .is substantially air-tight.

It will be appreciated that it is now possible, by the 1#resent invention to apply the blower, and the necessary gearing therefor, as a unit to the feeding machine in such a position that the connection between the blower and the air-inlet to the air-box is reduced to a minimum, the bellows-connector accommodating the vertical movement of the air-box.

In the second example (illustrated in Figure 2) a feeding machine of much smaller vertical compass is shown, and in this case it is found possible to dispense altogether with the rigid connect-ing pipe 38 employed in the previous example. The collapsible bellows-member 39 therfore forms the sole connection between the blower outlet and the inlet pipe 37 of the air-box. In this example a further modification is made, namely the blower `is adapted to be driven directly by an electric motor 40 supported on the auxiliary frame which in this case is constituted by a single casting 41, secured as before by straps to the stays 14 of the feeder frame. The motor and blower are belt-connected, and the use of step-up gearing between the feeder driving shaft and the blower is thus avoided.

)Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl is 1. For attachment to a sheet-feeding machine of the type described, a detachable unit comprising in combination an auxiliary frame, a blower' having an upwardly extending conduit, driving means t-herefor carried on said frame and means associated with the latter whereby it can be attached to the main frame of an lexisting sheet-feeding machine, substantially as described.l

2. For attachment as a single unit to a sheet-feeding machine of the type described, the combination of an auxiliary frame, a blower and driving means therefor carried on said frame the latter being so constructed that it can be attached tothe main frame of an existing sheet-feeding machine with the blower-outlet immediately or substantially beneath the exist-ing air-inlet connection for the air-box, and a connection between the blower-outlet and the air-inlet of the airbox whichl connection is constituted at least in part by a collapsible bellows.

3. For attachment as a single unit toa sheet-feeding machine of the type described, the combination of an auxiliary frame, a

vblower and driving means therefor carried on said frame, the latter being so constructed that it can be attached to the frame of an existing sheet-feeding machine with the blower-outlet immediately or substantially beneath the existing air-inlet connection for the air-box and a collapsible bellows constituting a connection between the blower-outlet and the air-inlet of the airl box, one end of said bellows being connected llO the combination of an auxiliary frame, a blower and a motor coupled thereto in driving connection, both carried on said frame and the latter being so constructed that it 5 can be detaohably secured to the frame of an existing sheet-feeding machine with the blower-outlet immediately or substantially ben'eath the existing air-inlet connection for the air-box, and a connection between the blower-outlet and the air-inlet of the air.- boX, Which connection comprises a collapsible bellows.

In testimony whereof I aIiX my signature.

CLEMENT GAVED. 

